While players around the League are looking forward to a break from the grueling 34-match season, Chivas USA rookie Caleb Calvert says he is determined to continue his soccer development through the off-season.

After becoming the youngest academy product to sign with the club in July, the now 17-year-old forward’s momentum was slowed down. It was an injured left that ankle kept him away from full activity for the majority of his stint with the First Team. After months of recovery and progress, Calvert made his First-Team debut last Friday against FC Tucson in a friendly in Arizona to close out the 2013 campaign.

The Wrightwood, Calif. native came on as a sub in the 80th minute and says it only fueled his fire to continue getting back into regular activity and arrive at full speed next season.

“I’ m not giving myself a break,” said Calvert. “There is no vacation for me. I’m going to keep pushing so next season I can come fully ready with guns blazing.”

Because of his age, the young striker is still eligible to compete with Chivas’ academy team, which Calvert says is definitely in his immediate plans. While other players are in need of a break from the sixth-month season, the 6-foot-2 striker is in need of games to regain the form that led him to become the leading scorer in the nation, which earned him National Player of the Year honors in his category out of the West Conference.

“It’s a confidence booster knowing that [the coaches] are thinking about me and wanting me to get some playing time. It’s hopefully going to be a huge push for me to do what I can.

“[Playing last Friday] felt fantastic. I still don’t have my rhythm quite yet. But it was really good to get some game time in and finally make my debut and it’s great to play with all the guys again and start to get into the rhythm of things.”

Calvert will now head into the off-season on the heels of learning the value of patients. The academy product says that the road to recovery taught him to relax and not let frustration or impatiens overwhelm him in his rookie season. For now, the forward looks to take the knowledge he gained from watching and learning from fellow forwards Erick Torres and Matthew Fondy and set some clear objectives for himself in 2014.

“My ultimate goal for next season is to score my first MLS goal,” Calvert added. “That is my goal at this time point. I want to get to the point where I can start scoring goals even at this level.”